Steven Palladino, 55, and Lori Palladino, 52, are charged with four counts of larceny over $250, three counts of making false entries in corporate books, one count of uttering, and three counts of usury, commonly referred to as loan sharking.

According to prosecutors, the Palladinos operated a Ponzi scheme through their company, Viking Financial Group, Inc., which Lori Palladino and the couple’s 28-year-old son incorporated in 2007. The three family members are the company’s sole employees.

Prosecutors allege that Viking borrowed money from investors, who were told by Steven Palladino that the funds would be used to provide loans at a higher interest rate. Very little of the money was used to make loans, prosecutors said, and it instead funded a lavish lifestyle.

Money borrowed from new investors was then used to repay earlier investors and to make monthly interest payments to all of the investors, prosecutors said.

Transactions show that investors’ money was often transferred from Viking’s account into personal accounts held by the Palladinos and used to cover personal expenses including a vacation in the Bahamas, rent for Steven Palladino’s mistress, and hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to casinos to cover apparent gambling losses, prosecutors said.

Steven Palladino is also charged as a common and notorious thief based on more than two dozen prior larceny convictions in Suffolk Superior and Norfolk Superior courts.

Prosecutors say Steven Palladino allegedly made use of investors’ funds when he paid $350,000 to satisfy a condition of his probation on a 2007 Superior Court conviction for defrauding an elderly relative.

Steven Palladino’s was arraigned Monday afternoon, and pled not guilty to the charges. He was being held on $250,000 bail. Lori Palladino and the corporation itself are scheduled to be arraigned on April 4.